Seeing what is going on in South Korea reminds of something I have been thinking about lately: I strongly oppose authoritarianism and centralization of power. This has more to do with business than government, but it still applies there. I don't know why people like presidential republics (as opposed to parliamentary republics or constitutional monarchies) but many seem to (or seem to take it as some kind of "given").

However, what worries me is the possibility that tendencies toward this kind of centralization of power may be an aspect of human nature. By opposing the loss of personal autonomy, am I merely just this era's version of the farmer who opposed the rule of the city-state? Of course, opposing centralization has various heroic archetypes, as well (look at anyone who opposed a corrupt regime we now consider "bad", for example). Still, I do wonder and it worries me.

For several years now, I have been thinking about what I refer to as "reasons for mortality" and I wonder if this is one. This can be personal, like being able to make peace with opponents or recover from trauma (otherwise, the weight of scars carried over an immortal life would be too great), but it can also be about generalized outlook, where one remembers the activities they used to love or the innovations they thought were under-explored (where the weight of what was lost or the dreams never seen can become too great).

It has made me wonder if, beyond merely "ignorance is bliss", ignorance may eventually become a necessity for a sane existence. It is sad to think about all the great ideas, favoured past-times, an possible innovations which are buried beneath my feet. Would knowing about these bring enlightenment through a broader mind or would they bring crushing existential dread through the sorrow of countless generations of ignored love and genius?

Does knowledge require death in order to preclude madness?
...Nights